Silver Soul
by Golden Glamor
Summary: A new student from a very old family turns Hogwarts upside down, and things only become more complicated when she catches the attention of a certain ferret... But what can you expect when she's more Slytherin than anyone at the whole school?
1. Chapter 1

Things had been good in the Wizarding World ever since the day that Harry Potter defeated Lord Voldemort. There had been lots of parties, and celebration for months after. Hogwarts was filled to the brim with students once again, now that the danger of Death Eaters had disappeared, and parents were no longer afraid to send their children to the school. It was for this reason that Harry, Ron and Hermione all decided to return to Hogwarts to finish their schooling, since they had dropped out because of Voldemort before. Headmaster McGonagall had given them permission to return as seventh years, which they had left off at, so now the three of them were sitting in the main hall as the Sorting Hat finished placing all the first years in their new Houses, and the beginning of the year feast was ready to begin.

The students all looked expectantly to their plates, waiting for the food to appear (Ron was looking especially eager), but instead, Professor McGonagall stood up again and cleared her throat. "I know that you are all excited to begin the feast," she announced, "but I have a very important announcement to make before we start." All the students watched her quietly as she held up a strange looking amulet necklace. "Before school started this year, while the dungeons were being cleaned out, this amulet was discovered," she said. "After examining it, we found the mark of Salazar Slytherin on it, which means that it is a very important relic of this school's history, since it once belonged to one of the founders. For this reason I have decided to place it in the Hogwarts Hall of History with the other important things for our school's history. You are all welcome to come take a look at it after we have put it on display." She then handed the amulet necklace to another staff member who took it away to hang it up in the Hall of History.

Harry turned to his friends with a puzzled look on his face. "That's strange," he said to them. "I wonder why they didn't find it sooner than now."

"Who cares?" Ron said as the food finally appeared. He picked up a drumstick and said through a mouthful of food, "It's just some old necklace. It's not like it's important today."

Hermione stared at him in horror. "Of course it's important! Don't you have any idea what this could mean for Hogwarts history?"

Ron just blinked at her. "Er, not really," he confessed after a moment.

Hermione only sighed and shook her head before turning to her own dinner. "I think we should go take a look at it tomorrow before classes. There might be something important to learn from it."

Harry shrugged but Ron frowned at her. "I don't get the poi—ow!" he yelled as Hermione nudged him in the ribs with her elbow. "Okay, fine," he grumbled while rubbing at the sore spot. "Let's go look at the dusty old necklace tomorrow." Satisfied by his answer, Hermione smiled in a smug way and began eating her food with delight.

The next morning, after they had finished their breakfast, Harry Hermione and Ron all went to the Hogwarts Hall of History to go look at the amulet that McGonagall had talked about the night before. Because it was so early in the morning, no one else was there, so the three seventh years were all by themselves as they went up to the pedestal that the amulet necklace had been placed on. The necklace was on a long golden chain that seemed to glimmer like sunlight, and the stone was a bright silvery blue color, but with a rainbow opalescent gleam to it. It was set in a silver frame dotted with small emeralds, and there was an inscription in a strange language etched into the silver.

"Wow," Hermione said while looking at it. "It's really pretty. It's such a shame it was lost until now."

Ron only shrugged his shoulders with a little "hmmph" sound, but Harry moved closer and peered at it through his glasses. "That's... odd," he said after a moment. "What language is that?"

Hermione looked at the writing on the amulet for a little while before shrugging helplessly. "I don't know," she admitted. "I don't recognize it at all."

Harry continued to stare at it, though, and frowned as he did so. "I've never seen this kind of writing before," he said slowly as he continued looking at the inscription, "but even though this might sound a little crazy, I think I actually know what it says."

Ron and Hermione both looked at his suddenly, startled by this. "If you haven't seen it before, how can you know what it says?" Hermione asked.

"Never mind that," Ron interrupted, "Tell us what it says!"

Harry hesitated then began to read the inscription slowly. _"Ashkah elyara suketh mijo newlikst muneh," _he said in a voice that was scratchy and harsh, that sounded more like hissing than actual words.

"What the bloody hell was that?" Ron demanded. "That was just gibberish, Harry!"

"Ron, hush!" Hermione said urgently. "Look,you two!" She pointed at the amulet, which had begun to glow with a dim green light. "Whatever Harry was saying made something happen!" As they stared, the light grew brighter until they were all forced to shut their eyes. There was a loud bang sound, and one by one, Harry, Ron and Hermione all slowly opened their eyes. The light had faded away, however now, on the pedestal where the amulet had been only moments before, there was instead a young girl, who looked about sixteen years old, sitting on the pedestal. Long, silky straight ebony hair ran down her back, reaching all the way to her waist, and deep jungle green eyes gazed out at the trio. Her skin was porcelain white, as though she had never been in the sun, and she was garbed in a beautiful, perfectly-fit silver gown which seemed to sparkle like moonlight. Around her long, slender neck was the amulet that had been on the pedestal before.

The three seventh years stared at her in shock, and she stared back blankly, until Ron opened his mouth. "Who are you?" he asked in an awed voice.

The girl blinked a few times before she seemed to understand the question. In a quiet voice, she answered, "My name is Silvina Esmeralda Slytherin."


	2. Chapter 2

Harry, Ron and Hermione gaped as the girl said her name was Silvina Esmeralda Slytherin, but before any of them could ask the questions burning in their heads, she went on in a gentle voice, "May I ask what your names are?"

Harry was the first one to find his tongue again. "Er, my name is Harry Potter," he said awkwardly. "And these are my friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger." He extended his hand after a moment, and the girl daintily shook it.

"You have such curious names," Silvina said with mild surprise.

"Ron coughed. "_We _have weird names? But you have the same last name as Salazar-bloody-Slytherin!"

The girl winced at the name. "Yes," she admitted, looking worried. "That is because... Salazar Slytherin is my brother." She looked around fearfully. "He is not here, is he?"

Hermione frowned and said in a perturbed voice, "No, he isn't." She looked down at the floor and continued in a soft voice, nervous that the news would upset Silvina, "he's been dead for hundreds of years."

Silvina's eyes widened, then she let out a long sigh. "That is... a relief," she declared quietly.

"Didn't you say he was your brother?" Harry cut in. "Why would you be glad that he's dead?"

Silvina smiled sorrowfully. "Salazar was only my half-brother," she explained. "We shared the same wizard father, but his mother was a witch, and mine was a muggle. He hated being related to me because I am muggle-born." She hesitated, then added, "He wanted to kill me, but he could not, because we were still family. That is why he placed a curse on me to lock me in this amulet." She held up the necklace she was wearing. The three students stared at her, astonished by this fact, but before any of them could say anything, Silvina frowned slightly and asked, "How did the curse get undone, by the way? Salazar was supposed to be the only one who could break it."

Harry shrugged. "One moment, I was reading the inscription on the amulet, and the next moment, there was a flash of light and then you just appeared."

Silvina stared at his with a penetrating gaze, her green eyes matching with his. "This necklace is a family heirloom," she stated. "The inscription is an invocation of the Slytherin family power, written in Parselscript. You broke the curse by reading it aloud."

"What's Parselscript?" Ron asked in confusion.

"It's the written form of Parseltongue," Hermione explained. "Harry must have been able to read it because he speaks Parseltongue." She gestured for Silvina to continue.

Silvina nodded and went on. "Salazar invoked the power of the House of Slytherin to place me under that curse. A spell performed using ancient family magic like that can only be undone if it is performed by a very weak wizard, or if it is undone by someone who shares the blood of the person who cast it." She stared very intently at Harry now. "Salazar was no weak wizard," she intoned. "Which means, Harry Potter, that you must be a descendant of Salazar Slytherin."

Harry gaped at her in amazement. "Are you serious?" he demanded.

Silvina shrugged one shoulder. "It is the only way you could have broken the curse," she stated simply.

Ron snorted a little at this. The others turned to stare at him. "What?" he said defensively. "Don't you know what that means?" When no one answered, he shook his head, snickering a little bit. "What it _means,"_ he explained loudly, "is that _she_ is Harry's great-great-however-many-times aunt. And since she seems about sixteen, the fact that Harry is eighteen means that he's actually older than his own ancestor!"

Harry and Silvina exchanged a puzzled look. "I guess he's right," Harry said after a few seconds. "I hadn't even thought of that until he said it."

"Nor did I," Silvina admitted. "However, as we are apparently family, I should like to get to know you." She hesitated, then added in a very low voice as an afterthought, "as long as you are not like Salazar, that is."

"What, you mean not liking muggle-borns?" Harry asked. When Silvina nodded, he burst out laughing. "I'm _definitely_ not like that," Harry assured her. "My mum came from a muggle family. In fact, Hermione here, one of my best friends, comes from a muggle family, and she's the most talented witch I know!" Hermione blushed, while Silvina looked pleased and relieved.

"I am glad to know it," Silvina said warmly. Then, without warning, she put her arms around Harry and gave him a heartfelt hug. Ron and Hermione watched awkwardly, and Harry's face grew red, but he returned the hug. Even though the relation was distant, he was excited by the idea of having someone else in his family, as he'd never really had a proper loving family. He hoped that in time, he and Silvina would grow close, and perhaps even see one another in a sister-brother type of relationship. Inwardly, Harry laughed, realizing that anyone would make a better brother for Silvina than her real one, who'd put her under a curse.

"You may be glad to know what Potter just said, but I would be gladder if I knew who you were and why you are wearing a necklace belonging to Salazar Slytherin," said a stern voice. The group of teenagers all turned as one to face the source of the voice, which turned out to be Headmaster McGonagall. Harry, Hermione and Ron all winced, realizing that they must have lost track of the time and missed the beginning of classes. Silvina, however, suffered no such feelings of guilt, and simply looked up at the sharp-eyed professor curiously.

"My name is Silvina Esmeralda Slytherin," she introduced herself politely. "I was once the sister of Salazar Slytherin." She extended a smooth, slender hand in greeting.

McGonagall frowned at the hand until Silvina reluctantly withdrew it. "I won't stand for any jokes, young lady," she snapped. "Now who are you, really?"

Confusion danced across Silvina's face. "I am afraid I do not understand you. Why would you think that I am lying?"

"Because," McGonagall huffed impatiently, "Salazar Slytherin is not recorded as having any siblings, and even if he had, they would all be long dead by now, a fact which I would think obvious."

Silvina dropped her gaze, biting her lip. "I suppose he would have pretended I did not exist..." she muttered to herself. She swung her head back up and met McGonagall square in the eye. "I am Silvina Esmeralda Slytherin," she repeated. "I am the half-muggle, half-sister of Salazar Slytherin, who locked me in the amulet you see here out of hatred for the circumstances of my birth. Harry Potter released me from the curse by reading the incantation written on the amulet in Parselscript." Her expression hardened and she added in a steely voice, "If there is any part of my story that you do not believe, give me a drought of Veritaserum and ask again. You will find the answer the same."

McGonagall blinked several times, momentarily taken aback by Silvina's bluntness. "Very well," she said crisply. "I'd like you to come with me. If what you say is true, there is a great deal that must be addressed." Silvina nodded wordlessly, and McGonagall turned to glare at the trouble-making trio. "As for you three," she said, eyes narrowing, "Your tardiness has no doubt already lost you House points. Get to class immediately if you don't want to lose more." They all nodded and hurried to class, while McGonagall led Silvina to her office.


End file.
